CO129-606-4 Hong Kong Loan- government grant 1-4-1947 - 2-3-1948 — Page 18

Code

INWARD TELEGRAM

COPY FOR ALGIL

FROM HONG KONG (Sir M. Young)

TO S. OP S. COLONIES,

Do 1st April, 1947. R. 1st

#

15.00 hrs,

تي

XI

ΠΙΑ ΠΛ

1947

67

18

CEIVED

IN REQ

No.589

Both on an earlier occasion and in the course of the budget debate, I have been pressed by the unofficial members for an assurance that none of the claims outstanding between this Government and H.M.Government relating to such matters as war-time expenses of Volunteers, cost of return passages of persons repatriated after liberation, etc., should be finally settled without the assent of the Legislative Council,

2.

I am not altogether clear as to the position in regard to past payments in respect of such items which have been made in London, but local payments and any included in Crown Agents accounts have been charged to a suspense account pending a final decision in regard to incidence of expenditure. Peeling is undoubtedly growing locally that it would be unjust to charge all these items to Hong Kong funds and this is particularly strong in regard to the two items mentioned above. Regard to passages, it is felt that as with few exceptione only Europeans benefited it is not right that the whole community should be asked to meet the bill. There is still a good deal of bitterness over the 1940 evacuation and there is strong opposition to meeting the cost of return passages of persons then evacuated from local funds. 3. In view of the representations mentioned in

that no paragraph 1 above; I have given an undertaking transfers from suspense to expenditure will be made in respect of any of the items now charged to suspense before the Legislative Council has been given an opportunity to discuss the matter.

!